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Post by shoestring on Apr 20, 2014 13:28:32 GMT -5
I posted on another thread the importance of understanding the limit of your tow vehicle, as well as towing safety. I thought at that time it may be beneficial to start a thread on safety; allowing experienced travelers to post their "What you need to know" comments, and to allow new comers to post their concerns.I know there is already space for general questions, so we should try to leave this thread for safety concerns. Any safety,,,, towing, not blowing yourself up with propane, not frying yourself in the electrical panel, etc... Let us see if there is an interest. I will start with my top three things that a person new to travel trailers needs to understand.
1st: Automobile manufactures over inflate the hauling/towing capacity of their vehicles. Even if they do not...they list the MAX, which is not what you should be towing on a regular basis. Take for instance my 2013 Ram 1500 with 5.7 Hemi. Of the top of my head I think the book says it can tow 10,500 and hauls something like 1700. If I was to regularly tow that amount, the lifespan would be greatly reduced. The reality is, you probably should not tow/haul 80-85% of max if you are going to do it on a regular basis.
2nd. Many dealers (disclaimer--NOT ALL) will sell you right up to your max, and maybe even beyond the capabilities of your vehicle. It is your responsibility to understand Gross Vehicle Weight, gross vehicle weight rating, tow rating, axel weight of both your tow vehicle and the trailer. These things can be affected by engine size, tires, etc. Once you know the MAX....refer back to number one.
3rd. NO, the trailer does not "just follow you down the road". Towing a trailer takes a bit of understanding. The added weight will cause a delayed ability to get moving, and will greatly reduce your stopping distance. Adding 20, 30, 40 feet takes up a lot more room, plus most trailers are wider than the tow vehicle, it will reduce your visibility, and increase the number of blind spots. FOLOW you...ha, ha, ha trailers track different than the towed vehicle; depending on the length, that could be a little or a lot. You may need to SWING WIDE, especially on right turns. When that trailer starts to sway and buck going down the interstate, you need to be prepared.
SO my top three: Understand your vehicle, the trailer you are towing, and how to safely maneuver both. Road safety begins with all of us.
BONUS: Is backing confusing, trying to remember to do it backwards in the mirror? DON'T. Place your hand on the bottom of the steering wheel...turn your hand toward the mirror you wish the trailer to go to (this automatically reverses the direction without you thinking about it).
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Post by amxdreamer on Apr 20, 2014 15:02:01 GMT -5
Before heading out ALWAYS check your tire pressures and the tires themselves for any deformations etc. This could save you a blowout which could cause an accident or damage your trailer. Two spare tires for trailers with dual axles as if one goes they can both go!
Tony
2008 KZ Coyote 250RL
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Post by shoestring on Apr 22, 2014 18:08:07 GMT -5
Sixty-eight reviews, ONE reply. Hopefully that means that those needing to brush up are reading, and the "ol' timers" are too shy to weigh in. That is fine; what's the old saying about if one person is saved.
Yes TIRE pressure is a good one. So is crossing the chains (I see so many people who do NOT do this), plus the basic things like lights, turn & brake signals. I will stick a bit more technical and go back to talking about load/weight.
Loading that trailer up for a week's travel turns out to be a LOT of weight even if you travel dry. HOW do you determine how to load the trailer? Do you put it all on the bathroom scale. so you can calculate how much goes into each cubby-hole?
Experts (NOT ME) say that 10-15% of the overall trailer weight should be on the tongue. You can get some serious wiggle or bounce if you load wrong. May I make a suggestion? Take your loaded trailer to a scale. There are scales at businesses that deal with bulk material such as stone, sand & gravel. Many house moving companies have scales. My favorite...truck stops. They have the room to drop the trailer and get a re-weigh of just the tow vehicle (you need this to properly determine axel weight). They don't mind (money is money, they will gladly weigh/re-weigh you). Years ago it was $7.00 1st weight, $3.00 re-weigh. I think the last time I paid $10.00 and $5.00...it can vary from region to region.
SO, my safety tip for today...know how much you weigh & where that weight is. There are a lot of videos on this subject, or you can comment, I will try to answer your question.
"
Maybe next time we can talk height. That is a one line warning. Know your height or risk "attempted bridge delivery".
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Post by amxdreamer on Apr 22, 2014 23:03:41 GMT -5
How about adjusting the trailer brakes?
How about testing the breakaway brakes controller?
Both thing that not many people check!
Tony
2008 KZ Coyote 250RL
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Post by slanted on May 6, 2014 13:13:30 GMT -5
I like to do a quick walk-around anytime we stop...and again before we take off. It is surprising what you can find doing that!
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Post by amxdreamer on May 6, 2014 21:16:44 GMT -5
Touching the wheel hubs when stopped. A hot one will indicate a wheel bearing is going out or a brake is dragging.
Tony
2008 KZ Coyote 250RL
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clown
Newbie RV’er
Bear watching me hook up our E196S to the 2010 F150 with towing package
Posts: 28 
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Post by clown on Jul 5, 2014 8:10:26 GMT -5
I have two thoughts:
1. Brakes- states have different weight limits (2000 to 3000 depending on state) before you need brakes on the trailer to be legal, other than some really light pop-ups we need brakes to be safe! 2000 pounds pushing you during an emergency stop can mean the difference between safely stopping or not. For an expense of $200 or so to protect your lives and equipment is inexpensive insurance.
2. I carry a small infrared thermometer (Harbor Freight for <$20)in the pocket of the driver door. EVERY time I stop I take the temperature of the TV rear wheels and the campers wheels and bearings. Takes less than a minute and it tells me if a tire is low pressure, bearings are failing, or if the load is shifting putting too much weight over one tire or axle.
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Post by MKWilliams on Aug 10, 2014 14:33:53 GMT -5
Can I safely pull a sportsman 5th wheel 235rk with a ford F150?
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Post by shoestring on Aug 12, 2014 9:21:19 GMT -5
I love 5th wheels. No sense pulling all that weighed, if you can haul some of it. Plus 5ers ride much better then towed trailers (not as much sway). The bigger the trailer, the more sense a 5th wheel becomes. Then again, I am biased....I drive tractor-trailers.
Being a young old timer, my 1st thoughts on a 1/2 ton towing a 5th wheel is to say NO. The average truck has the horsepower to pull it, it is the constant LOAD that becomes an issue. However, they do make 5ers lighter, and trucks have gotten tougher (or so the manufactures claim) so I did a bit of reseacher. Of course I do not know the trailer year, truck year, engine size, rear end, etc.... all of which matters.
Kz list the max load on a 235rk at 7800lbs. Ford claims a new 150 can do roughly 11,000 (when properly equipped). So it seems that yes you could legally do it. I never like to tow anything beyond 75% capacity of my truck, because manufactures LIE, and the life expectancy of your vehicle towing MAX will be greatly deminished. Still seems within those numbers.
HOWEVER... remember that this will put roughly 800lbs "in" your bed. That is a load for a 1/2 ton. So if you have ever hauled a full load of mulch, etc... imagine that weight being on your truck ALL the time. Then add another 7000 lbs pushing you. I would bet airbags would be recommended to level the truck.
Remember, going is the easy part...stopping and controlling the load is the hard part. I pull a light 3500lbs behind a 1500 HEMI (2012 Sportsmen 170). Don't even know it is there most of the time. Atleast not until I hit the brakes!!!! Even with properly equipped brakes, it pushes (as ALL trailers do), weight shifts forward (pushing down on the truck),etc... The suspension has got to be able to handle the load shifts, and still give you a sense of being in control. If you are anywhere close to being at MAX, the trailer will drive the truck, instead of you.
All I can tell you is from my experience. My semi can legal do 80,000lbs. A load of 25,000 is a lot easier to control than a load at 40,000. Both are legal, neither maxes me at 80,000....one is just a lot easier to control.
Hope this helps....I am hoping some 5er owners weigh in here. I am sure they can give you a bit more advice then I can/have.
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Post by how308 on Aug 12, 2014 17:03:57 GMT -5
I pull a 2013 KZ Durango 1500 245SB with a 2009 F-150. The only thing I added was a helper spring (super spring) and LT tires. It pulls fine, stops fine and handles fine. The trailer has good brakes. I have never had any scary moments and am a cautious driver. Which I would be no matter what type of truck I had. I will probably go to an F-250 on my next truck so I could upgrade to a larger 5th wheel if I wanted to. But this is the truck I had and it works fine. Also as side note I live and camp mostly in Florida. Flat terrain. I probably would not try the mountains without the bigger truck.
Happy camping!
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Post by skootz on Sept 3, 2014 11:58:27 GMT -5
If you have a spare tire mounted on the back side of the unit, doesn't hurt to take it off once in awhile and check the mounting
hardware for stress or corrosion/tighten the bolts holding it on..and check the tire pressure in the spare!
Thanks for posting this
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Post by amxdreamer on Sept 4, 2014 12:47:45 GMT -5
Speaking of spares, make sure you have a jack that can safely lift your unit. What about softish shoulders etc? I'm planning on getting one of these. Would be handy with my travel trailer or enclosed car hauler.  Tony 2008 KZ Coyote 250RL |
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Post by myredracer on Nov 5, 2014 14:30:42 GMT -5
I am one who thinks it's important to stay within a TV's max. payload, tow and axle ratings for a number of reasons. But, if you read other RV forums long enough, you will find both extremes. Some will adamantly argue that the ratings are simply assigned by marketing people and lawyers, the ratings are just for warranty purposes or that there are no legal requirements whatsoever in any states or provinces that you must not exceed GVWR or axle ratings. I also think you should go to a scale to determine your actual payload capacity and not go by the figure on your door pillar sticker which can be substantially less. Maybe the new SAE standard is a step in a new direction, but besides a lack of legal requirements to stay under a TV's ratings, I still can't believe that a person can buy a new TT and nobody, including your motor vehicle licensing authority, an insurance company, a vehicle manufacturer or a TT manufacturer do not tell you anything about the importance of staying under a TV's max. ratings, anything about a WDH including how to set one up or how to go to a scale and determine your actual available payload capacity. There's plenty of reports of flipped TTs and accidents on various RV forums, but maybe not enough people have died yet? I have seen so many overloaded TVs in campgrounds it's ridiculous....
Other important things for a first time TT buyer in addition to the OP's comments:
- Learn how to properly set up a weight distributing hitch and never let a dealer do it for you. Also learn about sway control and the different WDHs and methods for providing sway control. We use the Reese dual cam WDH that has integral sway control which is also pro-active and self-centering. Ensure that the spring bars are properly rated.
- Check the speed rating of your tires and do not exceed it and keep the tires at the max. psi shown on the sidewall. There are other precautions and recommendations to minimize the chance of failures and to maximize tire life. Lots of excellent info. at reading at www.RVtiresafety.com.
- Never use factory dry weights when making a buying decision to try and keep weights within a TV's max. ratings. Dry weights always go up, and in some cases, a LOT.
- Take your TT to a scale after it's all loaded up for camping and determine the gross (actual) total weight and the tongue weight. In some cases, there isn't much cargo carrying capacity left and you don't want to tow overloaded, which could happen if you had one or more full holding tanks.
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Post by myredracer on Nov 5, 2014 14:35:42 GMT -5
double post
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Post by johnr on Nov 6, 2014 8:20:53 GMT -5
I can't believe that there aren't special licenses that people hauling campers need to get. When I started, I was around a lot of people who had been pulling RVs for a long time and people who worked on farms who towed a lot of random stuff. They gave me great advice and corrected me when I was doing things wrong. But how many people out there have that?
How many people buy a camper, have never towed anything before, and just drive it off the lot? We had to get certified as youngsters that we could drive a car forward and backward safely before getting a regular license. Why not an RV?
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Post by lynnmor on Nov 6, 2014 9:15:47 GMT -5
Johnr, the best I can offer is; when you see a trailer being towed, stay back... Way back.
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